News Archive

Scientists have designed a brain implant that sharpened decision making
and restored lost mental capacity in monkeys, providing the first
demonstration in primates of the sort of brain prosthesis that could
eventually help people with damage from dementia, strokes or other brain injuries.

New research reveals that fruit flies and mammals may share a surprising
evolutionary link in how they control body temperature through
circadian rhythm, unlocking new ways to study the insects as models of
human development and disease.

Doctors at the hospital’s Vascular Birthmark Institute were enticed by
the chance to study anomalies of the arteries and veins that are rare in
humans but common in dogs. And the traffic between human and animal
hospitals flows in the other direction, too: Late last month,
veterinarians from the Animal Medical Center began meeting with their
counterparts at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to set up trials
of a noninvasive device for removing tumors of the urinary tract with
electrical impulses. Exchanges of this sort are becoming increasingly common. Once a narrow
trail traveled by a few hardy pioneers, the road connecting veterinary
colleges and human medical institutions has become a busy thoroughfare
over the last five years or so, with a steady flow of researchers
representing a wide variety of medical disciplines on both sides.

The injection of a tiny capsule containing heat-generating cells into
the abdomens of mice led those animals to burn abdominal fat and
initially lose about 20 percent of belly fat after 80 days of treatment.

Sleep disruptions may be among the earliest indicators of Alzheimer’s disease, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report Sept. 5 in Science Translational Medicine. Working in a mouse model, the researchers found that when the first
signs of Alzheimer’s plaques appear in the brain, the normal sleep-wake
cycle is significantly disrupted.

A vaginal ring that emits an HIV-
fighting drug protected monkeys from getting a version of the
AIDS-causing virus, according to a study that suggests the same
approach may help women whose partners won’t wear condoms.

Not only have great strides been made in human genetics but also in
animal genetics. This is important because such genetic information is
not only helpful to the animal, but it frequently can also be applied to
humans, remarked Dr. Murray Feingold.

Researchers found that the human monoclonal antibody targeting the virus protected chimpanzees from HCV infection in a dose-dependent manner in a study conducted at Texas Biomed's Southwest National Primate Research Center in San Antonio. Chimpanzees are the only species other than humans that can be infected by the hepatitis C virus and therefore the results from this study were critical in the development of the monoclonal antibody.

Research at Imperial College London examining influenza transmission in ferrets suggests that the virus can be passed on before the appearance of symptoms. If the finding applies to humans, it means that people pass on flu to others before they know they’re infected, making it very difficult to contain epidemics.

A drug originally developed to stop cancerous tumors may hold the potential to prevent abnormal brain cell growth and learning disabilities in some children, if they can be diagnosed early enough, a new animal study suggests.

Leuven scientists (VIB/KU Leuven) are using zebrafish as a model in their search for genes that play a role in the mechanism of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). As a result, they have identified a molecule that could be the target for a future ALS treatment.

How do stem cells preserve their ability to become any type of cell in the body? And how do they “decide” to give up that magical state and start specializing? If researchers could answer these questions, our ability to harness stem cells to treat disease could explode. University of Michigan Medical School researcher Yali Dou and her team have discovered the crucial role of a protein called Mof in preserving the "stem-ness" of stem cells, and priming them to become specialized cells in mice.

New research led by Professor Hannes Lohi at the University of Helsinki, Finland, revealed several similarities between compulsive behavior in dogs and humans. Dogs may turn out to be of significant use in investigating the causes of human psychiatric diseases. "Stereotypic behavior occurs in dogs spontaneously; they share the same environment with humans, and as large animals are physiologically close to humans. Furthermore, their strict breed structure aids the identification of genes."

New research suggests that a compound found in red wine can help improve mobility among seniors and prevent falls. The studies were conducted on animal models. Researchers say introduction of the compound- resveratrol in the diet can improve mobility.